


Much Too Busy

by missema



Series: Sacraments [4]
Category: Saints Row
Genre: F/M, Saints Row 1, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 18:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2702240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missema/pseuds/missema
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elle and Troy only get to spend time together incidentally.  Taking down rival gangs is tough on their fledgling secret relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Much Too Busy

Elle was dragging, way past the point where coffee or anything else could be effective. It took all of her strength not to groan when Dex came up to her.

"Julius just got a call from Troy. He needs us to head over to his place and check in with him before we go out," he informed her as Elle stifled a yawn. Dex gave her a small smile of sympathy at that, but said nothing else and motioned towards the door.

All she could do was give a tired nod. Her eyes were burned blearily from the fatigue that plagued her, and knew she'd be falling asleep in the car. She had no will left to resist the lulling motion, and Dex wouldn't let her drive his ride. It didn't matter to her, especially not in her current state. Too bad Troy didn't live farther from the church, so she could get some rest before she had to see him again.

They hadn't actually slept together more than that first time, but she thought about it whenever she had a free moment to spare. She barely even saw him alone anymore, and there was never time enough for anything more than a quick smile these days. She'd never presumed they would get regular time together, or that she would want it. As much as she was attracted to Troy, their lives weren't conducive to love and relationships. There was too much shooting and violence, too many chances that the circumstances of their meeting might be repeated, even though she was better armed these days.

There was little time for her to think about it most days. Elle still saw Troy, caught his smiles and glances and knew that it would have to be enough. Lin was deep undercover with the Rollerz and needed her help. King had been deposed by his lieutenants and the Saints were working their way through the Vice Kings every day. She got calls constantly about helping to push back in turf wars. The Carnales kept up enough pressure on her to have her always looking over her shoulder. No wonder she was falling asleep on her feet.

The night air was slightly humid as they left the church, and she fell into the passenger seat of Dex's car. He didn't speak, allowing her the silence so that she could close her eyes. The fatigue made her feel wafer-thin, as if the next gust of wind might snap her into fragments and scatter her. It was almost too much to take, but there was some comfort in knowing that everyone else was working just as hard too. Dex was right there with her, his days just as long as her own. Elle knew that it wasn't that Troy sat idle while she ran around Stilwater, but she wished that their paths would intersect more often.

The car stopping woke her up, though she wasn't aware of falling asleep. Dex looked over at her, but saw that she was awake and got out of the car. He knew his way around, but Elle had never been to Troy's apartment before. She knew the rough location and once she took in her surroundings, realized that she knew the building. That was helpful. It was a decent enough place, with rent high enough that she couldn't live there on her own but not so expensive that it was out of reach. Dex called Troy on the phone, eschewing the buzzer on the outer wall and was answered by the loud buzz of the electronic door unlocking. She wondered why he lived there, but the thought passed out of her overtired mind as she followed Dex up some stairs to the third floor.

They went to apartment 310 where Troy was standing in the door waiting for him. She could tell by the way he was standing that his gun was in his waistband, but he relaxed when he saw it was just her and Dex.

"Got something for you," he said, ushering them into his apartment.

"So Julius said, or we wouldn't be here," Dex answered as he stepped through the door.

She gave Troy a weak smile as she went past him, and he shut the door behind the two of them, taking care to slide the chain home before he joined them. The apartment itself was a small one bedroom, simple and open in design. The kitchen and living room were open to one another, a high counter with two barstools serving where a table might go. The living room had a couch upholstered in a navy blue fabric that felt like suede though she was pretty sure it wasn't the real thing. For contrast there was a dark brown leather armchair, and she could tell that was where Troy normally sat. The ashtray next to it was empty, but had a well-used look. All the decor seemed to alternate between shades of dark blue and a rich whiskey brown, but small splashes of purple colored the rooms as well as if to assert the presence of a Saint. Elle took a peak through the open door of the bedroom and saw a messy bed with a large white blanket on top of deep plum colored sheets.

Dex joined her on the couch, an energy drink he'd gotten from Troy's fridge in his hand. He had apparently known they would be in there and helped himself, though he scowled as he took the first swig. He caught her looking around Troy's place when Troy went to get her the water she'd requested.

"Don't look so impressed, his sister used to work at a furniture store," Dex told her. Impressed or not, Dex had the look of someone that appreciated the surprisingly sophisticated space Troy maintained.

"Ah," Elle said. It was all she could say considering she hadn't even known Troy had a sister. She'd thought about him, but never as anything more than a Saint. There were more sides to all of them it seemed.

He rejoined them and handed her the glass of water, letting his hand touch hers and he did. Elle almost smiled up at him, but remembered Dex was there and simply nodded her thanks. Their briefing ensued, with Dex asking most of the questions, and her just listening as attentively as she could manage. When they got up to leave, they had enough stuff to do to keep them busy all night, though Troy said some of it could wait up to a day. She was glad for even a short break.

Once the massive security door had shut behind them once again and they were on the way to the car, Dex's phone rang.

"We're not even out of your parking lot yet," he said, obviously speaking to Troy. Troy answered in words indecipherable to her ears. Dex shot an askance look at her then hung up his phone with a curt "alright".

"You left your phone upstairs. He's going to buzz you up to go get it. I'll pull around to the door while you run back in."

"My phone?" Elle asked. She patted her pockets and found nothing there. She frowned, wondering how she'd missed it falling out.

"Yeah well, when you wear those nasty track pants all the time, something's bound to fall out. Go on and get it," Dex said. The buzzer sounded again behind her and she ran to the door to get it in time, leaving him behind.

Troy was waiting for her, phone in hand. "You didn't have to leave your phone behind to see me," he said in a teasing voice.

Elle laughed. "I'm too tired to be some kind of mastermind. It wasn't on purpose." She saw the smile in his eyes dim a little but then leaned over and kissed his cheek. "But I'm glad."

"How are you? You look worn out."

"Not any more than anyone else," she answered. He shook his head at her, but didn't speak again.

She felt his arm slide around her waist and she reflexively moved closer into his warm bulk. Elle sighed, she was too tired and she missed him. She could fall asleep with him holding her in his doorway, even if they were standing.

He kissed her, but it was soft, not much more than comforting press of his lips against hers. She wanted more, they both did - but there was no time. He let her go and pressed the phone into her hand. Troy took a step back at the same time she did, and they were back to their normal distance, the guise of simple colleagues reestablished. At that moment in her tiredness and bereft of his comforting embrace, she hated the pretending. It felt ridiculous, an overbearing farce to cover up the one time they'd managed to get close.

"You better go. Dex is waiting," Troy said, pulling her back to reality. Elle nodded again at him, then turned to leave but he called after her.

"Hey, you know where I am now. Whenever you get lonely..." He trailed off and she turned back to see his hopeful face.

She smiled at him and nodded, then took the steps at a run. She had much more energy on the way down than she had before. There wouldn't be time for her to come back that night, she was much too busy but there would be a night. Maybe when she was finished with the Vice Kings, she'd show up unannounced.


End file.
